Shape-controllable synthesis and morphology-dependent photocatalytic properties of Ag3PO4 crystals

Abstract

A novel and facile soft-chemical method has been proposed for the synthesis of Ag₃PO₄ crystals with various new morphologies (branch, tetrapod, nanorod, triangular prism), and the morphological effect on the photocatalytic activity of the obtained Ag₃PO₄ crystals has been investigated. It is demonstrated that the morphology of Ag₃PO₄ crystals can be controlled by simply adjusting external experimental conditions such as static and ultrasonic conditions. Photocatalytic results indicate that the branched Ag₃PO₄ crystal with porous structure shows the highest photocatalytic activity among these Ag₃PO₄ crystals with multiform morphologies, and the photocatalytic rate constants of branched Ag₃PO₄ are 2.8 and 4 times those of irregular spherical Ag₃PO₄ for degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) dye solutions under visible light irradiation, respectively.